


Aquaphobia

by RootsArrow (SparklingDarkAngel)



Series: Malec Hurt/Comfort [2]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV), The Shadowhunter Chronicles - All Media Types
Genre: Canon Typical Violence, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Flashbacks, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, M/M, Magnus Bane Deserves Nice Things, Near Drowning, Panic Attacks, emetophobia tw
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-10
Updated: 2019-05-10
Packaged: 2020-02-29 09:33:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,414
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18775570
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SparklingDarkAngel/pseuds/RootsArrow
Summary: A demon attack reveals an unknown phobia of Magnus’s. Alec makes sure he doesn’t deal with it alone.





	Aquaphobia

**Author's Note:**

> Please see warnings in tags and read with care. 
> 
> I used google translate on the Indonesian parts, so forgive me if I messed it up. 
> 
> * Papa, no!  
> ** Please stop, Papa, you’re hurting me! No!

The entire strip of Manhattan Beach smelled like a specific type of decay only accompanied by demons. As it were, the night sky was clouded with the ugly beasts, like a cross between a hawk and a bat. Their screeches filled the air. Luckily, their wasn’t a mundane in sight thanks to the wards Catarina had put up, leaving the shadowhunters clear to focus solely on the demon swarm. 

Alec had come as soon as he had gotten Magnus’s fire message. According to Magnus, the flock of demons had been trying to abduct a warlock child. The High Warlock of Brooklyn had rushed down to the beach after seeing the kid’s SOS message, but not before he reached out to the Institute for help. 

The child was safe now, guarded by Catarina, but the demons were still a threat. Alec, Head of the Institute and skilled archer, shot them down from the sky while the other nephilim covered him. Isabelle, always at his side, struck out with her whip, knocking the demons who flew at them from the air. Jace and Clary were near as well, blades swinging through the grounded demons. Even Magnus remained, shooting balls of fire at the demon flock above. 

With the demon horde thinning out, it became clear that the shadowhunters were going to win the battle. Alec shot a demon straight through their wing, and they hit the sand with a defiant roar. As they were getting on their feet, Clary raced to plunge her blade into the demon’s heart, ending them once and for all. The demon attempted to dodge the attack, striking out with long claws, scratching Clary’s side as her blade sunk in. They turned to ash, and Clary collapsed, scarlet pooling on her shirt. 

“Biscuit!” Magnus called out, dropping his post and running to her. From the corner of his eye, Alec could see the blue magic seeping out of his fingers to heal her. He turned his focus to Izzy, whom two of the demons were ganging up on. Izzy struck one down with her whip, and Alec shot the other before they could make a grab at his sister. 

A cry of pain had Alec turning around so fast he almost lost his balance. A demon had hooked their talons into Magnus- his Magnus- and lifted him off the ground from his arm. Apparently, the demons were still determined to abduct one warlock today. Alec felt like his heart stopped, but he forced himself to remain calm as he aimed his arrow towards the demon already flying out to sea. 

The arrow was true to its mark. The demon disintegrated, releasing the warlock into a free fall towards the freezing Atlantic. Alec breathed a sigh of relief, but quickly began to hold his breath with dread when Magnus went under and didn’t come back up. 

“He does know how to swim, right?” Izzy asked nervously. “He didn’t fall into the rip.”

Alec wanted to immediately say that Magnus was a powerful, 400-year-old warlock and of course he could swim, but as he continued to watch the water surface, he wasn’t so sure. He took off running, diving fully clothed into the waves. The salt stung as he opened his eyes, and it was only thanks to the power of his runes and enhanced vision that he could make out the thrashing form of his boyfriend. It was clear the warlock was completely disoriented with no way of knowing where to kick. Waves of magic shot out of his body, only stirring up the waves around him. 

The water pushed against him, but Alec was strong enough to glide past the torrent and wrap his arms around Magnus. In his panic, the warlock pushed against him, struggling to get out of the shadowhunter’s grip. Alec held tighter as he propelled the both of them to the surface. 

As they broke the surface, Magnus gasped for air frantically, still thrashing his limbs aimlessly. “Ayah, tidak*!” he called out. Alec recognized Magnus’s cries as Indonesian and realized his warlock was far away, lost in his own mind. 

“Magnus!” Alec shouted. If it weren’t for his stamina rune, his legs probably would have already given out under the strain. “Magnus, it’s me! You need to hold onto me!”

At the sound of his voice, Magnus stilled, turning his unglamoured cat eyes towards Alec. “Alexander?” he asked breathlessly. Suddenly, the warlock was clinging tight to him, holding him in a bruising grip. 

“It’s me,” Alec reassured him. “We’re going to be okay, but I need you to let me swim us back to shore. See? It’s not very far.”

Magnus’s only response was to squeeze his eyes shut and nod. Alec shifted their position so that he was better able to support his boyfriend as he backstroked. He could see the few remaining demons circling the beach, but he had faith that the others would cover him as he pulled himself out of the water, dragging a shaking warlock with him. 

Without a word, Magnus pushed himself out of Alec’s hold and opened a portal, presumably back to his loft. He was gone in just a second, leaving Alec calling helplessly out for him. Magnus was scared, and that scared Alec. 

“Alec!” Clary called to him. With her unique ability to create runes, she opened up another portal. “We got this! Go take care of him!”

He gave Clary a grateful nod before jumping through her portal. As expected, he landed in Magnus’s loft not far from where the warlock stood. Magnus was a shivering mess, entirely drenched and still bleeding from where the demon had grabbed him. “Tolong hentikan, ayah, anda menyakitiku! Tidak!**” he muttered anxiously. His eyes were closed tight, and his palms were pressed hard against his temples. 

“Magnus,” Alec urged gently, unsure how to help the panicking warlock. “It’s Alec, er, Alexander. You’re safe now. I promise. Please come back to me.”

The muttering stopped as Magnus opened his eyes, still golden yellow. “Alexander,” he repeated shakily. 

Alec nodded. “I’m going to put my hand on your shoulder now. Is that okay?”

Magnus nodded, and Alec gently followed through. As soon as they touched, Magnus seemed to lose all his strength and collapsed into the shadowhunter’s chest. Taken by surprise, Alec wrapped his arms around tightly around him and let them fall back into the couch. They were both freezing cold, but Magnus didn’t seem to notice as he curled up against the shadowhunter, making himself as small as possible. 

“Love, I’m really worried about your arm,” Alec said gently. “Can you heal it yourself?” He shook his head. “May I take care of it then?” The warlock hesitated, then nodded. 

Alec felt guilty as he peeled himself away from Magnus, but his arm needed tending to. Luckily, Magnus kept all kinds of healing potions in his loft apothecary for emergencies. He found one he had seen Magnus use on demon wounds before, along with some bandages and a rag. When he went back out into the living room, Magnus hadn’t moved. He was still curled into himself with an empty gaze. Alec approached the warlock softly so as not to spook him. He sat back down on the couch and gestured to Magnus’s hurt arm. “May I?” he asked. 

His only answer was to lift his arm. Alec pulled it gently towards him, wincing at the sight of torn skin and fabric. “I’m going to take your jacket off, okay? This will sting, but I need to get to your arm.” When Magnus didn’t answer, Alec slowly began to pull the fabric from his shoulders and arms. He poured a bit of the healing potion on the rag and held it up to show the warlock. “This is going to hurt, but I need to put this on you.” Again, there was no response. Alec took his arm in one hand and began to lightly rub the exposed wounds with Magnus’s salve. He whimpered at the touch, and Alec felt his heart breaking. 

It occurred to Alec that Magnus was most likely in shock as he worked, spreading medicine along the warlock’s injured arm and wiping away blood all while he remained motionless and non-expressive. As Alec started to bandage the wounds, he continued to talk softly to Magnus, explaining what he was doing and praising him for cooperating. 

By the time Alec was done, the warlock was still shivering and soaked. “We need to get you warm, love,” Alec said softly. “We need to get these wet clothes off of you.”

Normally Magnus would crack a joke, but instead he just nodded. Alec helped him removed the sopping fabric until Magnus was naked on the couch. The shadowhunter normally would have loved the opportunity to admire him, but he was too busy worrying. He stripped himself down as well, grabbed a warm blanket from the bed, and sat next to Magnus, wrapping them both up and pressing against him skin to skin. “For body heat,” Alec explained. “Not that I don’t just love naked cuddles or anything,” he added with a small smile, trying to get a reaction out of the warlock. 

To his surprise, Magnus turned his cat eyes towards him. “Bold of you to assume this wasn’t my master plan all along,” he replied. His voice shook, but his usual humor was strong. 

“In that case, you could have just said please,” Alec teased, happy to hear the warlock’s voice. 

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

With Magnus’s head resting against his chest, Alec began to run his fingers through his soft hair. The warlock sighed contentedly. Alec hated to break the peace, but they needed to talk. “Magnus, I don’t want to push you, but you really scared me tonight. I need to know what happened.”

Magnus sighed, and Alec could see his cheeks flush. “I may have a small phobia,” he admitted. “But don’t tell anyone. I can’t have word getting around that the High Warlock of Brooklyn is scared of a little water.”

“A slight phobia?” Alec questioned. “Magnus, you went completely into shock.”

A shuddering breath escaped Magnus’s lips, and Alec wrapped his arms tightly around his waist, pulling him as close as possible. “Do you remember when I said I killed my stepfather?” Magnus asked. 

“I remember.”

“That... wasn’t the whole story.” Alec waited patiently for him to continue. “While he was telling me what an abomination I was, he took me out back, and- and he tried to drown me.”

Alec felt his whole body go colder than the Atlantic. 

“That’s why I struck out at him,” Magnus continued. “It still doesn’t excuse burning the man alive though.”

It took only a few seconds for Alec to jolt from the couch and sprint to the bathroom. He fell hard on his hands and knees and pushed the toilet seat up just in time for him to lose his dinner. His nauseas stomach churned until it was empty and he could only spit out bile. Still he heaved as if his body could purge out the horror he was feeling. 

“Alexander!” Magnus called after him. When he found him in the bathroom, he crouched down next to him. Alec pulled himself away from the toilet and flushed before falling backwards against the wall. Back in control of his magic, Magnus summoned a glass of water and pressed it to Alec’s lips. “Drink,” he ordered gently. 

Alec swallowed the drink down, hoping to wash the taste out of his mouth. It didn’t. “I don’t suppose that was food poisoning?” Magnus asked dryly. Alec shook his head, and the glamour was suddenly back up over Magnus’s eyes. He stood quickly left the room, summoning a dry change of clothes for himself as he went. 

The shadowhunter groaned as he pushed himself off the ground. Sensing Magnus’s discomfort with his sudden vulnerability, Alec grabbed a pair of boxer shorts and a tank top that he had been keeping at the loft. He walked back into the living room to find Magnus magically cleaning the mess of sea water and blood and clothes strewn about the floor. “Magnus,” Alec urged. 

He wouldn’t turn to look at him. “You don’t have to explain yourself to me,” Magnus replied in a lighthearted voice that Alec knew meant his walls had gone back up. 

“Actually I think I do,” Alec stated, walking around to the other side of him and gazing down into those lost, brown eyes the warlock had chosen for himself. “Did you actually think I’m disgusted with you?” Magnus’s silence was all the confirmation Alec needed. “Magnus, the thought that somebody who was supposed to love and care for you hurt you that badly disgusts me.” He gently cupped the warlock’s face in his hands. “You were a child, okay? You did nothing wrong.”

The glamour started to flicker, and Magnus closed his eyes. Alec reached out with his thumbs to gently stroke his eyelids. “Magnus, please look at me.” He leaned down and placed a soft kiss on each lid. “You are so beautiful, Magnus.”

Magnus opened his eyes unglamoured and gazed at Alec with love and awe. Their lips met in a blissful kiss, and Alec pulled Magnus closer to him protectively. 

“How did you know what to do?” Magnus asked when they parted. “You know, earlier.”

“Oh. I used to get panic attacks,” Alec explained. When Magnus’s brow furrowed in concern, he continued. “It was a long time ago. My parents just placed a lot of pressure on me, and I didn’t think I could live up to it. When Jace became my parabati, he could feel them. He learned how to talk me down.”

A fire message suddenly appeared in front of him, and Alec jumped to catch it. “Thank the angel,” he breathed in relief. “It’s Izzy. They took care of the demons. Catarina is caring for the child now.” He narrowed his eyes at the last part of Izzy’s message. “She said not to even bother coming back to the Institute tonight because she’s got it handled.”

Magnus smirked, looking like his usual self again. “Well then, shadowhunter,” he spoke, his warm breath hitting Alec’s neck and sending chills all down his back. “I can think of a few things we could do here.”

Alec shivered, thinking he might just melt as Magnus pulled him towards the bedroom and flashed his cat eyes.


End file.
